August 21, 2014




It's been 48 hours since we shipped off Kenton and Johnson to head to BMT in San Antonio, Texas.  The first night, I was awakened often and simply lay in bed and prayed.  One son, in particular, was keeping my thoughts unquiet and I sensed a special struggle.  But, both boys were covered in prayer through the night.

I have been praying that God will prick my mother's heart each and every time one/both of the boys are in need of prayer and that I stop what I am doing and immediately lift them up to Him.  And, He has responded.....I have even started a prayer jar similar to my current prayer jar for each of the boys.  It is of great comfort to me to write on a slip of paper and place my prayer for them in the jar and give it over to God....to see the prayers growing....and, along with it, my faith in their well-being on this journey.




 A mother knows her children as well as about anyone save God, and these past four years have created a strong bond between "me and my three" which comes when you share hardships, heartaches and hard journeys.  I hate the pain they have struggled through, that they have watched me struggle through, but I love the humility, tenderness and honesty which has forged our hearts together. 

It's a precious thing when your children see you at your ugliest and make the conscious decision to love you all the more.  That is what I felt last Tuesday as I hugged my sons and put them on the plane (their first air flight ever) and gave them over to the Kentucky Air National Guard (KANG).

So many keep asking, "are you sad?" "do you cry?"

No, I do not nor have I done more than have my eyes pool in a few unshed tears when Johnson hugged me "hard"....before he boarded.

I have peace.

I know they will struggle.  I know it will be painful.  They will be challenged.  They will have some successes and they will have some failures.

They will be broken down to the core of their being and they will be built back up....into men.

Those sad tears have yet to fall, but if they do, I will embrace them, accept them and pray through them.

It's not that I don't worry.....

It's that I know WHO has them in HIS hands.....and, I and my children have learned from experience, that they are strong but HE is stronger.  They are not as strong in their faith walk as I wish they were at 19 years of age.  I take responsibility for that and hold their dad accountable as well.

I don't want to spend my time in fear and tears because I choose to spend it praying.....

That GOD will win over their hearts and souls as only HE can during this journey they are on.  I pray that the TI's who guide them have hearts for HIM.  I ask God that if their TI's are not Christians, that HE use my sons to be the light of Christ to the TI.  I pray God put them with Godly men and women in BMT who can lean on one another during these next 9 weeks.

My sons are in the mission field.  I pray that God grows in them the need for their faith as they have never needed it before and that He leave them with no doubt who controls their life, their souls, their hearts.

I pray for His Amazing Grace on my sons.....that He strengthen them up and make them "battle ready" for the things this world will offer them starting at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and following them the rest of their days.

That is what we Mama's do....I am not special in this.  You do it, too.

I am the mother of two Airmen......Airmen for our great country....but, especially Airmen for the greatest pilot ever.....the one who created the very skies that they will travel these next few years.

May God guide them with a clarity and determination and ferocious claiming of my so beloved sons.....

That is my prayer.  My mission field is right here under my own roof....to pray for the three babies God gave me....

And so, I do. 


 









August 18-19, 2014

"The Lord will always lead you"  Isaiah 58:11

"You've been there.  You've stepped away from the masses and followed the Master as he led you up the winding path to the summit.  Gently, your guide invites you to sit on the rock above the tree line and  look out with him at the ancient peaks that will never crode.  "What is necessary is still what is sure." He confides.  "Just remember.  You go nowhere tomorrow that I haven't already been.  Truth will still triumph.  The victory is yours…."

Today's Guiding verse from the calendar my parents gave our sons this past Christmas.  Fitting for all that has transpired this past week, month and year.

What started as a "looking into" in the summer of 2013 has resulted in the start of a military career with the 123rd Airlift Wing of the Kentucky Air National Guard.

The journey has not been without its fits and starts at times making this mother wonder if this was the path on which God wanted them to trod…but, it would appear that in His perfect timing, His will will come to be.

Today, at the airport in Louisville, Kentucky, my parents, Chet and Shirle Millstead, brother Jim Millstead, nephew, Walker Millstead, and Ian and I walked through the process of shipping out our sons to Basic Training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

The journey has begun…..

One which so many have taken before them and which many will follow after….just as my sons have followed their Poppy's footsteps, so will they plant strong imprints into our family's military legacy.  May they do so with honor, humility and strength.

We know God goes with them and the eleven other young men and women who shared their journey from Kentucky to Texas.

We know God goes with them as we receive the first "official calls to home" from our Airmen and women.

We know God will be with them as they battle through the next 9 weeks of zero week to graduation…through hair shearings and foot sizing, through shot receiving and implementation opting.  As they learn to hold weaponry for the first time imagining what it really means to defend their grandparents, parents, siblings and family…and, yes, even you and yours.

It's a journey 1% of our American citizens take…a path I will never totally understand…..but, one which I feel prevailed and honor to walk along side my sons and new-found friends.

We could not do this.  We would not do this.  We would not want to attempt it without all of you who have supported our family (and, so many others).

Thank you in advance for the prayers I know you will lift on their behalf…please add their over 300 class-mates and especially the 13…especially Jake Reynolds, his wife Kelly and their son, Clark and Tyler, his mom, Stayce and little sister Lamya.

For love of our Military Service Men and Woman and their families.  May God bless them all.

Lesa Young and family

A little history……

"The Kentucky Air National Guard's 123rd Airlift Wing is one of the most decorated units in the United States Air Force, with a proud history of global engagement and unsurpassed achievement. The wing's honors include 15 Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards, three Curtis N. "Rusty" Metcalf Trophies, three 15th Air Force Solano Trophies, three Spaatz Trophies and six Distinguished Flying Unit Plaques.

The wing traces its roots to the 123rd Fighter Group and 165th Fighter Squadron, which were created on May 24, 1946, as part of a nationwide redesignation of World War II Army Air Corps units. Under War Department orders, the insignia, World War II battle credits and honors of the 359th Fighter Group and 368th Fighter Squadron were transferred to the Kentucky National Guard, and the new unit subsequently received federal recognition on Feb. 16, 1947. The "123rd" designation itself dates to the 123rd Cavalry Regiment, which can trace its lineage to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, a unit that fought in the Civil War."